Category: Parents

A Family Care Plan is a way to make sure that a military family is taken care of while their service member is gone. They may be gone because they are deployed, on temporary duty, or due to other military obligations.

Military OneSource “EFMP Resources, Options and Consultations” (EFMP ROC) is a new program that provides military families who have members with special health or educational needs with enhanced services Special needs consultants are available by appointment, via phone or video at no cost, and there is no limit to the number of appointments families can make.

The Interstate Compact is an excellent tool for your work with military families. There are resources for parents that describe what the Interstate Compact is, and what it can be used for. These two handouts are for military parents who want to know what specific steps to take to start resolving issues by using the Compact, and what their next steps are if their first efforts don’t succeed. You’ll find them helpful too!

For children in National Guard or Reservist families, or whose parent was injured in military service.

When a family has a child with disabilities, it may be challenging to find activities and programs that are both affordable and benefit their child. This grant program helps fund activities for military-connected children, with and without disabilities, whose parents have financial challenges because of their service.

Parent Centers know the Procedural Safeguards in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Did you know that Department of Defense Activity (DoDEA) Schools have their own processes? If you work with military families who have a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to or from these locations or work in the following locations (whose children attended or plan on attending a DoDEA school) this information will be particularly helpful for you. Continue reading “Procedural Safeguards in Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) Schools”

The Military Health System (MHS) is making changes to TRICARE, the entitlement program that provides health care to the uniformed military service members and their families in the US and abroad. Military families who have children with disabilities may encounter changes that affect their children’s providers and services. Here’s our updates:

When natural disasters and other emergencies strike, your Parent Center will step up to locate services and supports for affected families. Military families have some additional concerns during emergencies, but they also have significant resources available for just such situations. You can direct military families to these resources both during an emergency, and for future planning, which lets your Parent Center concentrate on other types of assistance. The military resources include planning for an evacuation when individuals have disabilities.

Did you know that the adult-aged child of an active duty or retired service member may qualify to retain their military medical benefits and other base privileges after age 21 if they meet the following criteria? The adult child, also referred to as the “Incapacitated Adult Child” must be

Incapable of providing his or her own support

Dependent on the sponsor (military parent) for at least 50 percent of his or her support (if the sponsor is deceased, the child must have received over 50 percent of his or her support from the sponsor at the time of death)

Incapacitation must have occurred prior to age 21 or age 23 if the adult child is enrolled as a full-time student

Unmarried—if the child marries and subsequently becomes unmarried due to divorce, annulment, or the death of the spouse, the sponsor is able to apply for reinstatement of the child’s benefits and entitlements as long as the adult child meets all other requirements.

We’ve created a guide to our most useful materials on military families: their culture, their unique needs, and the military systems that support them when they have a child with a disability. There is something for every staff member, from those with lengthy experience working with military families to those just starting out. AND-links to parent handouts, including 3 handouts you can brand with your Parent Center logo!

Parent Center staff are knowledgeable about State and local legal resources for families, but military families have unique circumstances that can call for out-of-state or specialized assistance. For example, when they move to a new duty station, they may need to find a lawyer in the State to which they are moving to help them establish a new guardianship for an adult child with disabilities. Fortunately there is an online resource from the American Bar Association: ABA Home Front, created to help military families get legal assistance both on and off the installation.

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